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San Sebastian | The Church Made of Steel

After meeting up
at TIP Manila for my cap distributed by Street Style Originals, my plan was to visit Paco Cemetery but due to unfriendly weather
condition, I opted to visit San Sebastian Church, just few meters away. For the
second time, when I entered the church, I was still fascinated by its
uniqueness; from the walls, columns, floor, glass chandeliers, cabinets and
others look really stunning.

San Sebastian Church
or Basilica Minore de San Sebastian is a Minor Basilica in the City of Manila. Its
first structure is situated on a land donated by Don Bernardino Castillo, a
devotee of Saint Sebastian, in 1621. It was made up of wood, but was burned in
1651. So it was then replaced by a structure made of bricks but was destroyed
by fire and earthquakes. A new plan was created and that’s to build a fire and
earthquake resistant structure. In 1880s, Esteban Martinez approached the
Spanish architect, Genaro Palacios, to make a structure made of entirely of
steel.

The steel used
in building the present structure were manufactured in Belgium. They were
transported in eight separate shipments from Belgium to the Philippines. The
stained glass were imported from a German stained glass firm and applied by the
local artisans. You can also check my photos captured two years ago, click here.